Apex
by Riyazura
Summary: A Breath of the Wild 2 one-shot. Initially inspired by one of Moro's quotes from Princess Mononoke: "You can't even speak, can you?"


Link was blind, depending solely on the way the clicking of his boots echoed against damp stone and the chorus of the spirits within his hand to find his way in the caves etched deep under the wild lands of Hyrule. There was no torch to rely on here; not anything or any_one,_ for that matter, not when Zelda had been ripped from him yet again. Calamity Ganon—no, not the monster, the _man_ they had found in ancient Zonai artifacts to be labeled "Ganondorf"—had been as cruel as he had been in stealing her the first time.

Link had finally come to the Gerudo King's altar once more. The last time he had been here in this room was when Zelda had been taken from him. But now, he was back in determination of getting her back. He wasn't about to leave her in the Gerudo King's clutches again; there was revenge spanning across the countless tragedies of a century to be had.

At the thought, Link realized he could hear murmurs slipping past his ears, as deceptively intangible as cubes of ice; it must be the ancient magic-wielding tribe, the spirits of the Zonai, pulling him forward. They must sense the evil he was pursuing.

As if affirming his reasoning, the very center of his right hand began to burn, tingling with pins and needles until it suddenly imbued a reassuring teal glow. He was infallibly close now, he could piece together that much.

The boy continued to take wary steps, one by one, up broken steps of stone beneath him. The voices were less of a hushed chorus, but more of a lamenting moan now. They were singing in some backwards plead—they could sense the impending doom thick in the air.

Link himself could taste the bitter, ashen stench of malice on his tongue. Tendrils of the stuff slithered lazily past him, he could tell from the now-bright light of his hand illuminating a circular aura of space all around him. The malice soared its way in ribbons past him, and it slid like shadows blacker than black down the steps he was ascending. They snaked their way across Link's body, their finger-like appendages reaching forth in an attempt to grab at his cursed arm.

So much malice, could the source of it really be so close? _Am I really nearing the apex?_ Link wondered.

Then he saw where all of it was coming from.

His hand was illuminating the Demon King's scaly gray corpse, levitating in a pose of supreme power with his clawed hands raised and outstretched. Link stifled a gasp, instead pursing his lips and balling his left hand into a fist.

Through the disturbing hisses of the malice threatening to make Link cry out at their unsettling touch, the Zonai all howled in horror. Their unified screams deafened him, yet he managed to hold onto his ground.

The dreaded black magic was rolling right off of him like miniscule streams of water on glass.

The Zonai didn't know they were no longer in danger, forever locked into the moment of horrific history that ended them. Their magic was impervious to the venom of malice's hatred when wielded by the Hero.

Ganondorf seemed to merely sneer at this, a joint in his neck cracking unsettlingly as he cocked his head in a challenge: _Go ahead and challenge me,_ it said. _See that the price you pay may be very heavy indeed…_

Link slid the Master Sword out with a _shiiing!_ It was an unspoken response ringing with confident authority: _It doesn't matter._

The pure, undamaged blade glowed with green energy channeled into it from his right hand. When Link pointed its very tip at his enemy, it hummed with energy. It was just as alive with adrenaline as Link felt.

The demon's outburst of rage was instantaneous. Link swallowed the rising fear in his throat as the malice, previously having swept lazily past him, made its way to surround Ganondorf like a blazing fire again. It consumed the Gerudo man; he was reverting back into his familiar form resembling that of a boar.

Though it was smaller, consisting only of the malice within these caves, it was every bit as terrorizing as Link remembered from when he had first freed Zelda from the Calamity. The boy had to take an abrupt step down to avoid a magenta ember-tipped tusk slashing at him when the boar's head swept back and forth in rage. The beast's eyes spoke of unfathomable fury, pale gold eyes flecked with fiery orange and slitted with daggers of steel.

The Dark Beast roared—no, _screamed_—in Link's face.

The boy cringed with a green-veiled hand shielding his face, immediately met by its rotting breath and roily malice spraying on him like blood. The large droplets of unadulterated hatred were just as alive as their creator, writhing like insects until they diminished into what appeared to be mere stains of mud on his clothes through the blessed magic of the Zonai.

Ignoring the insistent pleads of a tribe long past to be avenged, the boy wiped away the grime of malice freckling his cheek with an overturned hand. He nary moved where he stood, glaring into the Dark Beast's eyes for what seemed like an eternity. The Beast had gone silent, waiting for the boy to act. Only then did Link speak.

His voice was softly cadanced, balanced in a way that made his question not an implorement, but a statement:

"You can't even speak, can you?"

* * *

This wasn't meant to be particularly _good,_ nor does it reflect exactly what I think will happen in the sequel. I wrote this in one sitting after admitting to myself that maybe I'm a little _too_ excited for BotW2, and then decided to post this. Just because. I hope you liked it nonetheless!


End file.
